Princess Diana was beloved by millions for more than her royal status and sophisticated fashion sense: She was a compassionate philanthropist set on making a difference.

As her son, Prince William, explains in the HBO documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, Diana “always understood that there was a real life outside of palace walls (and her) immediate warmth was always there for whoever she met.”

Lady Diana at age 9 during the summer of 1970. She would later go on to boarding school in Kent in 1974 where, according to Buckingham Palace, she won the school's award for "the girl giving maximum help to the school and schoolfellows." AP

Prince Charles and Princess Diana of Wales, seen here on the grounds of the Government House in Auckland, New Zealand, brought 9-month-old Prince William with them on their first official tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1983. PA via AP

Princess Diana twirls around the dance floor in November of 1985 with John Travolta at a State Dinner hosted by President and Mrs. Reagan in Washington, D.C.. Later, her midnight blue, off-the-shoulder dress would be sold at a charity auction. AP

Never far from her children, Diana enjoys a ride on the Maid of the Mist in Niagara Falls, Ont., in October 1991, with sons Prince Harry, then 7, and Prince William, then 9 Hans Dderyk, Associated Press

Britain's Princess Diana meets Japanese children and nurses during a visit to the National Children's Hospital in Tokyo in February 1995. The princess often visited hospital wards on her many trips and was president or patron of more than 100 charities during her life. AP

The Princess of Wales does an interview with Martin Bashir in November of 1995 for the BBC program, 'Panorama'. In it, Diana discussed her life and problems with her husband, Prince Charles, the royal family and the press. AFP/Getty Images

Diana and companion Dodi Fayed strolled in the French Riviera resort of St. Tropez, Aug. 22, 1997. Diana, Fayed and their driver would die in a car crash just a little more than a week later. Patrick Bar, AP

Britain's Diana, Princess of Wales, arrives at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, Aug. 30, 1997, in this picture from a security video. Hours later, she would die from injuries received when the car she was riding in crashed in a tunnel. AP

And Diana met people from all walks of life, including the poor and downtrodden, through the more than 100 causes she supported.

For example, she was known to talk with Londoners living on the street, and she advocated for the homeless. Diana, who visited homeless shelters with her young sons, once said in a 1995 speech for the homeless charity Centrepoint, a youth organization for which she was a patron, that every "young person deserves a proper start in life, and those who have no family to turn to, need to rely on us as a society (to give) the help, the encouragement they need.”

Diana, delivers a speech on Jan. 13, 1997, in Angola as part of an effort to create awareness about land mines.(Photo: Joao Silva, Associated Press)

As of 2005, Prince William took over his mother’s patronage duties at Centrepoint and continues to highlight the plight of the homeless by spending a night on the street (which he did in 2009), dropping by homeless shelters and answering calls on homeless helplines (both of which he did this year).

Another group of people Diana advocated for were people with AIDS. The Princess of Wales helped change the public’s attitude on AIDS when, in 1987, she opened an HIV/AIDS unit in London’s Middlesex Hospital and shook hands with a patient. In addition to removing the stigma from the disease in a single, glove-free greeting, Diana raised millions of money for AIDS and cancer charities, and she regularly visited HIV-positive patients in the hospital.

On Saturday, Aug. 17, 2013, Prince Harry, left, is given a tour around the mine clearance site in Angola.(Photo: AP)

Diana’s younger son, Prince Harry, has continued his mother’s AIDS advocacy work. Last year, he quietly visited an east London hospital that treats patients with AIDS and on another trip to a different hospital took an HIV test live on Facebook.

Another cause important to Diana: the campaign to ban land mines around the world, including in Bosnia where so many people were injured by the war weapon; her work encouraged the signing of an international treaty in 1997 that outlawed land mines.

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Princess Diana used clothing as a powerful communication tool, and 20 years after her death, she's become an icon as much for her style as her charitable work. Here's a look at some of her top fashion moments. JOHN STILLWELL, Associated Press

She collaborated with designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel on her much-anticipated wedding dress, which featured antique lace and a royal record-setting 25-foot train. She wore the Spencer family tiara over the veil, adding even more of a dramatic effect. STR, AFP/Getty Images

The dress was made entirely from materials made in Britain, including the 10,000 mother-of-pearl sequins and pearls, 25 yards of silk taffeta,
100 yards of tulle crinoline and 150 yards of netting for the veil. Lisa Lake, Getty Images

The velvet, navy blue Victor Edelstein gown she wore to the White House became known as the John Travolta dress, and set a record price for Christie's auction house. "It was like something that might have been made for Queen Alexandra, she just looked beautiful in it," says Meredith Etherington-Smith, who curated the '97 Christie's sale. AP

"Diana, Princess of Wales has become a fashion icon very much in the same way as Audrey Hepburn or Jackie Kennedy — timeless, elegant, and still incredibly relevant," says Eleri Lynn, curator of 'Diana: Her Fashion Story' currently at Kensington Palace. Here, she wears a full length red and black gown by Bruce Oldfield for a charity event in 1987. NONE, XXX Associated Press

FILES - Picture taken 27 January 1988 shows Princess of Wales Diana, during her visit to the Footscray Park in suburb of Melbourne. A Jury is set to come together in London 02 October 2007, more that 10-years after the death of Princess Diana and Dodi el Fayed to find the cause of death. AFP PHOTO PATRICK RIVIERE (Photo credit should read PATRICK RIVIERE/AFP/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: BRITAIN- Patrick Riviere, AFP/Getty Images

Diana wore a short, fitted black Christina Stambolian frock that she picked up earlier that day for the annual annual Serpentine Gallery summer party in 1994. It became known as the "Revenge Dress,"and distracted attention from the interview Prince Charles would give about his affair the same day. "You can't fault her, her black legs showing looked fantastic," says Etherington-Smith, who noted the short dress was chosen deliberately. Princess Diana Archive, Getty Images

After separating from Prince Charles and shedding her official royal duties, Diana broadened her wardrobe to include more European designers and short, fitted sheath dresses, like this one from Versace that she wore to a charity concert in Italy in 1995. MENCARINI MARCELLO, AFP/Getty Images

With dresses like this red Catherine Walker, worn to a dinner in Argentina in 1995, she helped popularize the sleek silhouettes of the '90s, says Lynn, a departure from her romantic looks of the early '80s. DYLAN MARTINEZ, Associated Press

For her first major public appearance after her divorce from Charles was finalized in 1996, Diana wore a white beaded Catherine Walker dress with a chic halter neckline to a benefit in recognition of the Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research in Washington. "She championed British fashion designers -- putting many of them on the international stage -- and her outfits inspired copies all over the world," Lynn says. DENIS PAQUIN, AP

Her red Catherine Walker day suit also furthered her messaging about HIV/AIDS, the color of awareness organizations. She wore the suit to the launch of the HIV /AIDS charity London Lighthouse. Jack Taylor

Among the standout chokers was this pearl number with a sapphire clasp. The lacy slip dress she paired it with in late 1996 was not loved by critics, who dubbed it lingerie. DON POLLARD, Associated Press

"My favorite image of her, apart from the Mario Testino portraits, is her walking through a minefield in jeans in a white T-shirt. That was so brave. She was a brave person," says Etherington-Smith. JOHN STILLWELL, AP

But the sleek dresses of the decade are what came to define her style. "What's particularly interesting is that while each of these looks still reappears on the catwalk from time to time, they've become inseparable from the image of the princess," Lynn says. JOHN STILLWELL, AFP/Getty Images

The pared down portraits shot by Mario Testino in 'Vanity Fair's' July, 1997 edition, also became enduring images of the princess, the last before her untimely death. "It took 10 minutes to do her hair, instead of backcombing it until all hell broke loose. No jewelry, no horrible checkers, nothing. Just her. They really changed the whole trajectory of royal photographs,"says Etherington-Smith. Vanity Fair, AP

One of the designers Diana helped elevate was Jimmy Choo. Choo worked with Diana on matching her mid-height heels with her dresses for more than a decade, including these she wore to a gala performance of Swan Lake in June 1997. JACQUELINE ARZT, JACQUELINE ARZT, ASSOCIATED PRES

Her ability to connect with people, through clothing and her warm personae, is one of her lasting legacies, says Etherington-Smith. "She was made to do things, as a royal, but by the time I met her, she smashed through that pane of glass that separates them from us." IAN WALDIE, Associated Press

Also, in a bit of tragic irony, a priority cause for her was child bereavement: One of the last charities Diana helped launch was the Child Bereavement U.K. organization, founded by one of her friends.

On Jan. 11, 2017, Prince William talks with a girl at the Child Bereavement UK center, where he's a patron.(Photo: Matt Dunham, AP)

Two decades since Diana’s untimely death, her sons continue to champion her causes. Harry gave a speech this year promising to honor his mother's efforts to eliminate land mines, and William has been the royal patron of the bereavement center since 2009.

Both princes have advocated for additional causes, including support for military veterans and orphans (Harry); wildlife preservation (William and Harry); and raising mental health awareness (William, Harry and William's wife, Duchess Kate of Cambridge).

In addition, the brothers support the Diana Award charity, named in memory of their mother, which honors young people who share her kindness, compassion and service.

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Princess Diana's death on Aug. 31, 1997, shocked the world and left millions grieving her loss. From her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, to celebrities like Elton John and Nicole Kidman, mourners came together in the days (and years) following her death to honor the late princess. Sang Tan, AP

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, walked along the sea of floral tributes to Diana at Buckingham Palace upon their arrival in London on Sept. 5, 1997. JOHN STILLWELL, AFP/Getty Images

Prince William and Prince Harry bowed their heads as their mother's coffin was taken out of Westminster Abbey following her funeral service. Prince William was 15 and Prince Harry was 12 when she died. ADAM BUTLER, AFP/Getty Images

Terry Hutt from Cambridge, England, who had been coming to Kensington Palace for 10 years on the anniversary of the death of Princess Diana, stood outside the palace in London on Aug. 31, 2007. LEFTERIS PITARAKIS, AP

Pavel Nowak, 37, traveled 1,200 miles by bus from Poland to be in Paris for the anniversary of Diana's death.
He brought a message and flowers to honor her the day before the 10th anniversary of her death. JEAN AYISSI, AFP/Getty Images

People took pictures and stood next to photographs, notes and flowers placed in memory of Diana above the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris on Aug. 30, 2007, the day before the 10th anniversary of her death. JACQUES BRINON, AP